Rightank

James Taranto has a great piece on the potential presidential run of Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. He outlines his business-styled approach to governing as well as the Romney’s successes in a very liberal state. Imagine how much conservative work would get done if the Senate were 80% Democrat.

Taranto like Cromartie points to Romney’s faith as a potential run-stopper, however, Taranto is not as pessimistic as to Romney’s chances of overcoming the religious obstacle:

A crucial question will be whether Mr. Romney’s religion is a handicap. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is indigenous to America, but many Americans view it with suspicion. In a 1999 Gallup poll, 17% of those surveyed said they would not vote for a Mormon for president, far more than said the same of a Jew (6%) or a Catholic (4%).

In 1994 Sen. Kennedy made an issue of the LDS Church’s tardy embrace of racial equality (it did not allow the ordination of blacks until 1978). “I don’t think that’s the reason I lost to Ted Kennedy,” says Mr. Romney, and he’s surely right. . . .

The trouble is that much of today’s anti-Mormon sentiment is found on the religious right, a constituency that looms much larger in the GOP now than it did in 1968, or than it ever has in Massachusetts. Ask a conservative Christian what he thinks of Mormonism, and there’s a good chance he’ll call it a “cult” or say Mormons “aren’t Christian.” . . . .

How would he overcome anti-Mormon prejudice if he seeks the presidency? He doesn’t answer directly, but cites his experience in Massachusetts: “As people got to know me . . . they accepted me for who I am, and religious doctrines didn’t make much difference to them.”

In the end, there’s probably not much Mr. Romney can do about the “Mormon problem” other than put his faith in the American tradition of religious pluralism. “I think our nation needs people of faith in public service,” he says. “My policies in the public sector are not a mirror image of any church’s doctrines. But of course the respect I have for American values flows from the faith that I have.” If Mr. Romney runs for president, it may test the proposition that the religious right is an issues-based movement as opposed to a sectarian one.

Taranto’s last sentence lays out the rub: Are Christian conservatives supporting Republican candidiates because of their faith (Bush is an Evangelical Christian) or because they see eye-to-eye on important social issues (e.g., abortion, same-sex marriage, cloning)?

It would a travesty if Evangelical Christians or Catholics withheld their electoral and political support from Romney because of his Christian faith. There is too much socially at stake for our Nation, particularly the fate of traditional marriage, to chance the nomination of a Republican candidate less conservative (socially and fiscally) than Romney.

This choice by conservative, non-Mormon Christians might make the difference between having a president of faith or having a faithless Democratic president sitting in the Oval Office on January 2009.

Yesterday, NRO posted an interesting Q&A with Michael Cromartie assessing the impact of Gov. Mitt Romney’s Mormonism on his presidential ambitions. As a Latter-day Saint or Mormon, I found a couple of Cromartie’s responses a little frustrating:

KJL: Do evangelicals specifically think of Mormonism as a cult? Is there something legit there?

Michael Cromartie: Most evangelicals do perceive Mormonism to be a cult and are deeply troubled by its theology. But this does not mean they would not vote for someone like Governor Romney. They admire his record and they agree with his conservatism on moral, social, and cultural issues. Given a choice between Hillary Clinton versus Governor Romney for President, evangelicals know how to bracket aside their theological differences with the governor and would support him because of his positions on the social issues.

. . .

KJL: Do you hear positive or negative or lukewarm things about Romney when you get into ‘08 conversations?

Cromartie: I hear positive comments about Governor Romney as a person of integrity, and as a successful economic, political, and social conservative in a very blue state. I hear very lukewarm comments about the governor when it comes to his religious tradition. Evangelicals admire the governor but find Mormonism to be a strange and baffling abberation of the historic Christian faith.

Throughout the Q&A, while Cromartie refrains from tossing Romney’s 2008 chances out with the bathwater (and for good reason), he reinforces the false idea that Mormonism is a cult. Likely, Cromartie is among those Evangelicals who are “deeply troubled by the theology” of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and find its orthodoxy “strange and baffling.” It’s easy to call something strange, baffling, or troubling without expanding on why Evangelical perspectives on Mormonism exude such temperamental distress. Mere theological disagreement between Christian religions does not mean that one is a cult and one is not.

Gov. Romney has an excellent shot at winning the Republican nomination precisely because he has an excellent record as a Governor. Romney cut taxes and fought against the Massachusetts Supreme Court’s imposition of same-sex marriage by fiat. He is a legitimate social conservative. His membership in a church over 12 million strong should not militate against his ability to become the next Commander-in-Chief.

Darn it.